Hyperfixation (ADHD Obsessions) #adhd

Hyperfixation, ADHD obsessions.

Autistic people, and ADHDers experience hyper fixations where they focus heavily on something which has taken their interest.

I'm sharing my experience of hyper fixations, the good and the negative side and how to let yourself experience the joy they can bring.

How to find the joy in hyper fixations without experiencing the negative sides.

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[NoelleHolidayofc]

I HATE HYPERFIXATIONS!!! I want to talk about it with people all the time but I don't want to seem obsessed

[GrannyGooseOnYouTube]

Having a hyperfixation is great, until someone comes along and asks you why you haven't been doing this other thing or that other thing, and you have to admit it's because you've been totally drawn into a Vortex of your own interest. Like, for DAYS. Lol

[saml]

The other problem with a hyper fixation is the “social aspect” when it’s all you want to do and talk about. NT people find that annoying, but idk why because I LOVE hearing others talk about their hyper fixation. You can tell how happy it makes them and I love seeing how happy they are when they talk about it.

[TornTech]

I think the biggest problem with HyperFixation is when that dopamine wears of.... when you reach a point where the fixation ends, because its too hard, or you realise its not for you.... You often feel a massive down and depressive lost feeling, where the thing which brought you so much joy is no longer doing it, and I feel lost! i felt like i had my head together and i was learning so much.. now nothing brings me joy! its a blessing and a curse.

[faeriesorceress]

I'm so tired of my current hyperfixation to the point I'm getting myself into a bad self-deprecating state of feeling constantly starved for content about it but also guilty for not taking care of my responsibilities. It's been constantly on my brain for the past 2 weeks and I'm SO. DONE. But I can't stop and Idk how to manage this problem

[sigmadrm]

sometimes i wonder if i REALLY have adhd
then i do nothing but watch spiderman
and read spiderman fanfiction
and talk about spiderman
and draw spiderman
and do the 🤟hand pose
and watch spiderman again
i quite literally turned down hanging out with my boyfriend because i could not focus because i wasnt doing something spiderman related
like it is that bad

[КатеринаБарановська-нф]

My hyperfixations are more like a spontaneous thing. Like, I watched "The American Psycho" and now, in a month I read a book, watched a lot of videos about clothes and design of film, listened all playlists and even a Broadway musical. A lot of my hyperfixations are about searching information about some places, books of films, so I don't spend too much money. However I spent a lot of time, really a lot)

[stellagetreuer]

I totally agree with you about hyperfixation and hyperfocus NOT being the same.
My hyperfixation is a fictional character who literlly kept me alive that past year.

[helenalovelock]

I bought a £300 sewing machine. I was hyper fixated on which one to buy for 2 months. All the accessories etc. I haven’t used it once because I can’t focus on threading it up 🤦‍♀️😢😢. It’s been sat on my desk for a year. Been meaning to sell it.

[disaster]

What's hard is knowing when to talk about it or not 😭 Like I have this choice - either I'm gonna excitedly dump all this info on them they likely don't care about, or I have to try to talk about something else and realize I..kinda don't care about something else rn😅so the dialogue is not going anywhere lol. But then the worst is when you DO find someone with a hyperfixation you had, but no longer have it, and cant bring yourself to care or remember much about it :( it suсks to burnout on it before I even find someone to talk about it to

[NikiaBell]

Hyperfixation is bad when you hyperfixate on something negative or hurtful. Which is what my issue has been.

[abbysworld]

You’re right, hyperfixation and hyperfocus are different, they’re similar but are different. With hyperfocus it’s more short term and you don’t have to be interested in It but with hyperfixation it’s more long term and It’s a literal obsession that is all consuming and It causes distress and can cause someone to be anxious about that thing such as with a tv show for example you worry intensely about how everything will turn out and wanting to know everything about something even tho you can’t yet which that is part of the distress that hyperfixations can cause, it’s both a blessing and a curse. Hyperfixations can vary cuz most hyperfixations fade over time but some very lucky interests we are hyperfixated on become stronger and never go away, so even tho most hyperfixations fade over time, some hyperfixations are lifelong.

[tressains]

It happens to me with people, movies, celebrities, songs, shows etc. Right now I am hyperfixated on Bridgerton couple Polin.

[latifx]

Thank you for being honest about how sometimes hyper fixation can be PEOPLE.
A lot of people gloss over this aspect but it's important to know about it so you can take steps to deal with it healthily.
This one aspect can really get neurodivergent people in a lot of trouble in personal and even legal situations despite good intentions.

[rosea]

I can definitely relate to the overspending on hyper-fixations! Also, your skates are great.

[helenalovelock]

I was hyperfixated on camping and tents once. I hyperfixated on buying a tent which one to buy for months I changed my mind 4 times and took each one back because it wasn’t right. many many other things. Hyperfixation on bad things it the worse for example Ilnessss (real or imagined), wars, covid medications, relationships. I have only recently learned about hyperfixation and understood what has troubled me for years and years.

[brighidcampbell]

Sometimes if its a show i hyperfixate on and i realize im becoming too obsessed with it, ill binge the rest of it really really fast to try to end my obsessive phase so i can get back to normal life.

[spotterofgold]

Well done on the skating! By the way, those skates are gorgeous and I'm envious of that big skating space--wow. I used to skate a lot as a child. Then none at all in college; then in my 30s bought a new pair and had a blast; and then it became about bigger wheels: bicycling everywhere for years! I loved that joyful feeling. I transferred it to tap lessons in my 40s, which I was rubbish at--but it didn't matter! Now in my 70s I recently re-started tap from watching YouTube tutorials and a DVD and put in at least a few minutes everyday. There's less discomfort in front of a video on your laptop in your home than in a crowded, brightly lit dance studio where not only the music is loud but so are the extra tap sounds of the 12 to 15 other tap students! Deafening, disturbing and overwhelming! The point is, I have learned to hang on to my supplies and tools of--and joy--for all my fixations because a lot of them do come back around and I am happily fixated again! You are a Bright Shining Star and I love this video! Thank you so much!

[inlesinlet]

I have no interest in rollerskating whatsoever, but hearing you talk about it so joyfully made me smile big time!

I'm diagnosed autistic and suspect I also have ADHD. A big reason for that is because my hyperfixation pattern goes something like this: I hyperfixate on something, then I tell myself it must be my entire life and I must become an expert, because that's "what autistic people do" (and most people on the internet don't show themselves having multiple hobbies, giving the illusion that it's normal for everyone, regardless of neurotype, to have Just One Thing). Then the pressure builds and zaps all joy out of it. I start to become bored. I start getting pulled towards other things. I try to force myself back to the hyperfixation. I can't. I become hyperfixated on a new thing, while beating myself up over not being able to reach my goals regarding the last hyperfixation, and the six other ones that came before that one, all while *trying* to experience the excitement and joy from the new hyperfixation -- but then I slowly start to put increasing pressure on myself to become good at the thing, and the cycle repeats itself.

It's exhausting. But I'm starting to think that a large part of *why* it's so exhausting is because I've been working from the assumption that I'm autistic *without* having ADHD -- and I keep berating myself, pulling myself down, talking badly to myself, for not behaving like a "proper autistic person". Like, "why can't I stick to things like everybody else? What's wrong with me? Why am I like this? I'm hopeless, I'm useless, and I never manage to become good at things so I can't be useful to society with the skills I learn underway, so I am a waste of space", and it can quickly spiral down into serious depression. Now, what would happen if I let myself self-diagnose as also having ADHD? I think it would be easier to be kind to myself, thus lessening the exhaustion from constant self-criticism.


I don't know, these are just some things I've been thinking about lately, and this video helped me think about them some more, so thank you :)

[PuIkrabek]

Happens to me every so often, most of the times on certain "visual novels" then I obsess over the characters, but when it isn't that, it is mostly a person that I really like.